Phone services. The Internet.  Cable services. Voice mail. Electronic mail. There's no end to the way that telecommunications touch our lives, and the list grows longer every day as new services are introduced in the marketplace.  The Information Age has arrived, but it has yet to reach its full potential.

What does that mean for you? Telecommunications is a fast-growing, highly competitive industry with an ever-growing demand for bright, young prospective employees like you.  Simply put, telecom-munica-tions is any form of electronic communication: by traditional telephone lines or cable, by wireless or radio transmission, or by satellite.  It may be transmission of voice, data or video.  Chances are, you use a number of telecommunications services every day, right there on campus.

Industry leaders are companies you know well: AT&T, Sprint and MCI in the long-distance markets; the Bell companies like BellSouth, Bell Atlantic, SBC, Ameritech and U.S. West.  There are manufacturers like Nortel and Motorola, and cable television companies like Time Warner and TCI.  Then there are the smaller, not-quite-so-well-known companies like Symbiont and Worldwide Technology, Inc., which are enjoying their share of success in this rapidly growing industry and happen to be owned by African Americans.

Some companies provide traditional telephone services.  Some provide long-distance service.  Others provide cellular or wireless services.  Some manufacture telecommunications equipment, and others provide Internet services or consulting services.  In any event, most telecommunications companies provide a mix of services.

Industry Outlook is Bright

If you want a job in a rapidly growing industry, telecommunications is the place to be. Many Wall Street stock analysts are beginning to change their perspective and see opportunity for both the large companies and the smaller new companies. Both new and incumbent local phone companies are benefiting from the higher demand and increasing revenue per customer.   Let me give you an example from my perspective at BellSouth.  In 1997, somewhere in the world, we added a new customer every 12 seconds.  Nearly two-thirds of those customers are outside of our traditional wireline telephone business and a strong indication that the international telecommunications markets are booming.

Many telecom companies have been merging and forming new alliances to better leverage their expertise and expand into new markets.  Bell Atlantic, for example, has merged with NYNEX in the northeast and is currently working to form a union with GTE. AT&T plans to join forces with TCI and Teleport.  MCI has united with WorldComm. Everybody wants to find a way to strengthen their market position in this hot industry.

African Americans in the Executive Suite

For African Americans, prospects still aren't as great as they should be, but they continue to improve as more of us are moving up into the executive ranks.  At BellSouth for example, our financial department is led by Chief Financial Officer Ike Harris, and Odie Donald is our group president for our customer operations units.  Bell Atlantic's Bruce Gordon, who is their group president for retails services, was recently named the 1998 Black Enterprise Executive of the Year; and Jacquelyn Jacquie Gates, their vice president of ethics, compliance, diversity & organizational development, was named as one of America's 100 Most Influential Blacks by Ebony magazine. Another prominent figure in the industry is Andrew C. Barrett.  A former member of the Federal Communications Commission, he now is the managing director of the Barrett Group.  He's been known to travel frequently to Africa helping countries privatize their telephone systems.

Then there are entrepreneurs like James Bud Ward and David Steward.  Ward's company, Symbiont, Inc., is an information technology services and management company headquartered in Washington, D.C.,  that provides a variety of information services for government, business and industry. 

Steward is president and CEO of Worldwide Technology, Inc., a leading provider of hardware, software and networking solutions and services. Steward was named as the United States Small Business Administration's Minority Small Business Person of the Year in 1998 for Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, and has built a reputation for mentoring young people in this industry.

Hot Employment Opportunities 

For several years, all you heard about were layoffs or downsizing at many of the largest telecom companies.  After years of trimming the work force, many companies now are trying to make up for those off-peak years, because more of our existing work force is rapidly approaching retirement age. Your timing for job hunting couldn't be better.

According to Martin Jenkins, who's responsible for executive staffing at BellSouth, the need right now at BellSouth and other telecommunications companies is for front line supervisors.  These are the supervisors of technicians in construction, installation or maintenance crews.  We also need supervisors for service representatives in our business offices. 

Well-Rounded Candidates Have the Edge

Our ideal candidate right now would be a college graduate with a technical degree who has strong interpersonal skills, says Jenkins. We're looking for people with backgrounds in technical management, engineering, and computer science, as well as marketing or business. The best candidate, for most companies in our industry, is someone  with strong analytical and problem-solving skills, who understands logic.  It's someone with a customer focus who can grasp the big picture, says Jenkins. Telecommunications training is desirable, but not necessary. Special skills, such as a second language, can also be a plus, especially with companies expanding internationally.

According to Jenkins, many candidates who are pure business majors tend to be weak in logical reasoning and analytical skills.  If this sounds like you, you can strengthen your skills by taking classes in computer science, math or engineering. On the other hand, if you're working on a technical degree, you should think about classes or extracurricular activities that enhance your interpersonal skills relating to other people.

Show Me the Money

For most entry-level management positions in telecommunications, such as the front line supervisor, you can expect to start out at about $37,000-$38,000 a year and progress to about $44,000 within two years. Your starting salary may be adjusted to give you credit for internships, cooperative training or military experience. If you have a technical degree, you may start as high as $44,000-$45,000. Graduate students with MBAs or other related degrees may find jobs in project management or product marketing.  Starting salaries for MBAs can run as high as $60,000-$65,000.

One thing to keep in mind as you consider opportunities with various companies: find out what kind of bonus plan they offer, if any. For example, at BellSouth you have the opportunity to an additional 10 percent of your annual salary as a front line supervisor, based upon company and business unit performance. The eligible amount varies by position.  And don't forget to check out the benefits packages, which can vary greatly.

In addition to supervisory positions, many companies also have openings for sales positions, like account executives and account managers.  These people may manage the accounts of several small businesses or a few large business accounts.  Such jobs typically have a base salary plus commission.  The total compensation is comparable to other traditional jobs, but more is at risk for salespeople.  For instance, with a traditional business degree, your starting salary may have a base of $25,000.  You could earn another $15,000 if you meet your sales objectives?more if you do very well, less if you miss your target.  If you have an MBA, you might start at a base salary of $45,000 plus a potential $15,000-$20,000 in commission, depending on your performance.

Getting Your Foot in the Door

One of my peers, Monica Huddleston with Southwestern Bell, is president of the National Association of Black Telecommunications Professionals, Inc. (NABTP) a professional organization of which I am a member of the board of directors.  The NABTP has about 1,500 members nationwide, and many of the chapters are developing student outreach programs specifically aimed at offering mentoring opportunities to African-American college students. NABTP is also a good source for finding summer jobs in telecommunications.

Huddleston offers this advice:

Familiarize yourself with the industry.  Read trade publications like Telephony and Communications Week to give you a good idea of products, services and what companies are doing in the industry.  Become a regular reader.

Seek out those colleges and curriculums with strong technical programs.  Some even offer programs specifically focused on telecommunications.  Focus on information sciences and learn to use the Internet.

Get involved in professional organizations, like NABTP, or contact your campus placement center for help finding a mentor in the telecommunications field who can help you. A good mentor can provide more than technical information and  basic information about a company.  He or she can be an excellent counselor on the corporate culture, too. 

Start Early

Huddleston and Jenkins both suggest you interview with company recruiters when they come to your campus and start early, in your junior year. You'll get more comfortable with the interview process, and you may find it easier to have a job lined up by the time you graduate.

When you start interviewing, don't make the same mistakes as some of your predecessors. Huddleston  says many young African Americans go to a job interview totally unprepared and with the wrong attitude.  That interview with a recruiter on campus can be a crucial first step toward landing the job.

Jenkins says many students interviewing with him are too relaxed and don't take the interview seriously.  Don't be too casual about the interview process.  Our recruiters are looking for a professional image to go along with your education. They're looking at how you dress, your diction the total package, not just how you answer their questions or what courses you've taken, he says. 

Do Your Homework

Most telecommunications companies are still very conservative.  While we're loosening up a little, you have to keep that in mind when you're looking for a job in our industry.  A good recruiter is looking for qualified candidates, but the edge will go to the one who comes prepared, knows something about our company, and who will fit into the corporate culture.  Our companies want fresh ideas from innovative thinkers who can think outside the box, but we're generally not ready for the dramatically different.

Telecommunications companies are very traditional, says Huddleston. If you want to work in this industry you need to project a professional image.  Look, act and walk the part.  Joining professional organizations can help.

Before your interview, do your homework.  Research the company.  Find out what's going on in their business right now. There's nothing worse than going into an interview and having the applicant ask me what my company does, says Jenkins. 

Find out if the company is growing and introducing new products and services.  What kind of culture does it have?  What percentage of the work force is African American?  Is there evidence of African Americans moving up the ranks?

Don't expect the typical questions during your interview, either.  More and more companies like BellSouth are asking situational type questions: What would you do if?.. . Give me an example of a time when you had to ... . Past behavior is generally a good indicator of future behavior, says Jenkins.

Once you get past the initial interviewing process, the next step toward employment is testing.  Get comfortable with taking tests, whether it's to evaluate your expertise or skill level, or to see how you would act/react in a variety of situations.  Most companies also require security checks and drug testing.

Career Tracking

Once you've landed a job in the telecommunications industry, it's time to start planning for your future.  The barriers for African Americans, as for women and other minorities, within the industry usually aren't hidden.  The challenge is still to break through the old, traditional glass ceiling. 

Huddleston says the key to moving ahead is to make yourself so indispensable in terms of your skill set that you have to be the one they pick.   Make yourself the authority in your subject matter, and deliver in that manner all the time.

I strongly recommend that you develop a plan for continuing education as well.  This keeps your skills fresh and current and may also help you develop new skills in other areas.  You may have gotten your initial job as a specialist because of your expertise, knowledge or skills in a certain area, but the farther up the ranks you want to move, the broader you have to make your background and skill sets.

As I frequently tell my own employees, be the best you can be all the time and you'll be on the right track no matter what industry or line of business you get into.